KILLING AND DYING

In his first full length work since Shortcomings in 2007, Adrian Tomine has produced another unforgettable collection of stories and characters: "Amber Sweet" shows the disastrous impact of mistaken identity in a hyper-connected world; "A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture" details the invention and destruction of a vital new art form in short comic strips; "Translated, from the Japanese" is a lush, full-colour display of storytelling through still images; "Intruder"' depicts a man obsessively trying to find his way back to a former life. From the master of the small gesture, it is a fraught, realist masterpiece about the weight of love and its absence, the pride and disappointment of family, the anxiety and hopefulness of being alive in the twenty-first century.